Enjoying Life!

Hello Family & Friends!

I can't believe another month has passed already! June certainly went by in a blink.

My first "weekend" (my weekends are Mondays and Tuesdays) off during the month I went to the Foxfire Museum. It is a place full of pioneer heritage. There are many old buildings and artifacts that reacquaint you with life in the Southern Appalachians during the time of the pioneers. I also went to the "beach", if you can call it that. Lake Burton (nearby) has a public swimming and beach area. Unfortunately my "relaxing time on the beach" was disrupted by rambunctious  children and yelling parents. PSA - Keep your children in line! Following the unpleasant time at the beach I went to one of my new favorite places in the area, Hemlock Falls. It is so pretty! The trail follows along the stream and there are many "falls" and bridges and places to put your feet in :) Definitely a favorite in my book!

Hemlock Falls Trail

And, it's not just my "weekends" that I have to report on. I have a few work related things to share as well. One of the projects the other intern and I have been working on is a guided nature trail walk of our Summit Trail. At the beginning of the month we began giving this program. We walk the Summit Trail  from the top of the mountain back to our parking lot (6/10's of a mile downhill) and share with visitors unique vegetation and geologic features along the way. We walk the trail at 1 and 3pm on Saturdays and Sundays. So far they are a success! We hope to put together another program about watersheds and hydrology of the mountains soon!

Another thing to share is the international recognition Brasstown Bald received earlier this month! A photograph of our observation deck and the mountains was used as the background to www.Bing.com on Monday June 9th. We got a lot of publicity because of it and couldn't be happier!

Brasstown Bald on www.Bing.com

As of June 10th I have been in Georgia a month! Can you believe it?!?! The "weekend" of the 9th and 10th I spent catching up on a few things and reading. I have read a few books already the summer and I would recommend all of the them. Thus far this summer I have read "In the Sanctuary of Outcasts" by Neil White, "It Was on Fire When I Lay Down On It" by Robert Fulghum, and "The Fault In Our Stars" by John Green.

Side note: June 7th was National Trails Day and the 14th was National Get Outdoors Day so we have had lots of reasons to celebrate around here!

As I mentioned in my last post, my Fridays are different from my other days as they are "special project" days (sometime this "day" doesn't fall on Friday, but once a week a day is set aside for special projects). I usually work on one of my many projects but sometimes we have it scheduled for the other intern and I to meet with someone and do a "shadow day." On Tuesday the 17th I went and shadowed Taylor, the Trails Technician for the Blue Ridge Ranger District of the Chattahoochee National Forest. We went and helped

Helping with trail maintenance

with trail maintenance and a trail reroute on the DeSoto Falls trail, about 30 minutes from Brasstown Bald. After a long day of hard work it was time to....PACK!!

The next day I left for my trip to Burlington, Vermont for the Forest Guild National Conference. I drove from here to Atlanta (about 3 hours) and then flew from Atlanta to Newark, NJ, and then Newark, NJ to Burlington, VT. After a couple snaphews, a few delays, one expensive dinner, and many traveling hassles I made it to Burlington about 12:30am on Thursday (with my bags :)

All day Thursday was the field portion of the conference, where we were outside all day learning about various things about how our forests might adapt to climate change. I had a wonderful time at the Proctor Maple Research Center near Mount Mansfield, which is Vermont's high point. Sadly, I didn't get to summit it, but we will count it as another "1/2 summit" :) That evening was the official "meeting" of all of the board members the business-type subjects were addressed.

Michigan Tech Students - National Forest Guild Conference

We (Michigan Tech students) introduced ourselves and were recognized as the first student chapter of the Forest Guild in the nation! Friday was full of conference speakers on a variety of topics related to climate change and our forests. I got to hear a number of speakers and meet a LOT of great people (woohoo networking!). I won't share everything I learned, but one presentation I listened to was about our forest landowners (who owns the forests of our nation, why, and what they plan to do with their land). I found this very interesting and it definitely helped me refine what I think I want to do with my life. Again, I cannot emphasize what a great experience the conference was and how great all of the other conference attendees were. I met so many people in various realms of the environmental sector and look forward to connecting with some of them in the future! Overall, I learned a tremendous amount and will bring back lots of great information to share with my fellow students and University.

And then.....I took a surprise trip home! Though I have had it planned for a few months it was still a surprise to those back home! Early that Saturday morning (6am) I flew from Burlington, VT to Chicago and then to Minnesota. I was able to be home for my sister Angela's show as well as my sister Rachel's high school graduation party! It was so great to be home for a few days, especially since the WHOLE family was home!

All together! :)

After the show, the party, seeing family, and a relaxing day with my Mom and sisters in Stillwater, it was time to pack and travel, again.

On Tuesday (24th) I traveled back to GA. Since being back I have been catching up at work and trying to get ahead for this fall (and my future...yikes!) The idea that a year from now I will no longer be in school and I will hold a Bachelor's Degree in Applied Ecology and Environmental Sciences is a scary yet fantastic thought! I have begun to think about what's next (grad school, out-of-college jobs, another seasonal position, where I will live, etc.) Thinking about the future is a job in-and-of-itself! But, I can't let myself get too caught up in the future, as I still need to live out each moment as it comes :)

I hate to end such a great blog with this sad note, but two years ago today the world lost a wonderful soul, my friend Adam. Prayers go out to all of those families and friends that have lost a young person in their life. I would ask you all to remember, cherish, and make the most of each moment of life you are given. Also, this Friday is the 4th of July, a time to celebrate, as well as a time to remember my Grandpa Yarusso. My Grandpa pasted away on July 4th three years ago to Alzheimer's Disease. He is in a better place now, watching over us - I love you Grandpa!

As this blog probably (hopefully) portrays, my life has been crazy lately! I have been traveling all over, gaining all sorts of experiences, and meeting lots of great people! I am actually pretty excited to return to school in the fall and start to figure out what the next steps in my life will be! Prayers as I "figure my life out" are appreciated!

I hope life is treating you kindly. I am thinking of you all!

With Love, Kyle

Living the High Life, Atop a Mountain

That is officially the longest I have ever gone without blogging! I will attempt to keep this brief :)

After working at Northern Tier for their winter program I returned to Michigan Tech for the second semester of my third year. As stated in the last blog, I was offered and accepted a Resident Assistant (RA) position in Powerhouse hallway of West McNair Hall. It was a good semester and a nice change up from living in Wadsworth hall for the prior two years. This hallway was all first year males which made for a different living experience than years past. 

This past semester fostered many great memories of which I will list a few here:

 - Fun times with the McNair staff (multiple meals at applebees, end of the school year shenanigans, etc.)

 - Winter Carnival the family came to visit!

 - Broomball!!

 - Celebrate the UP! event and staying involved in local environmental organizations

 - Getting myself, once again, involved in the Undergraduate Student Government. I was elected as a fourth year class representative for the 2014-2015 academic year.

 - Attended lots of academic speakers, film showings, and panel discussions

 - Served on the SFRES computing committee

 - Lots of snow!!

 - Running

 - Helping start the Forest Guild Student Chapter. I currently serve as the Public Relations Officer.

 - Visiting local schools and teaching environmental education was lots of fun!

 - My intramural bowling team (Anna, Bill, Katy, and I) were the IM bowling spring semester champions!

So, moving ahead, here are a few other things to note.

I was rehired as a Resident Assistant for next year and I will be returning to TreeHouse in Wadsworth Hall! I'm excited to be back in my "home" and I am looking forward to next school year!

Recently I have been getting into highpointing, or the hobby of visiting the highest point in a "something." I have been going to various state high points. "How did this start?", you ask. Well, as many of you know already I was offered and accepted a Visitor Services and Conservation Education Intern position at Brasstown Bald Visitor Center in the north Georgia mountains! Yep, as in the state of Georgia! Brasstown Bald happens to be the highest point in the state of Georgia. But, before I get into my summer details, a few more notes on high points. So I have visited six thus far. In chronological order...Mount Arvon (Michigan), Timm's Hill (Wisconsin), Hoosier Hill (Indiana), Clingman's Dome (Tennessee), Sassafras Mountain (South Carolina), and of course, Brasstown Bald (Georgia)! I should also note that I was 3/4's of the way up Mauna Kea, Hawaii's highest point, last year when I went to Hawaii, but I didn't have time to get to the top
:( So I'm going to say I've been to 6 and 3/4's :)

So, the school year finished before I knew it and my 4.0 semester was completed. My residents all left, end of the year activities (banquets, exams, spring fever, etc.) consumed my life, and just like that I was headed home!

I was home for a few days and they were spent like most other days at home...unpacking, cleaning, and repacking. I also made a few new purchases which included a new tent and a new backpack! I'm pretty excited to use them this summer and in the future!

And just like that it was road trip time! Kayla and Dad joined me for the road trip to Georgia. It was lots of fun! We went to the high points of Indiana, Tennessee, and South Carolina during the road trip. We also stopped and saw Aunt JoAnn and cousin Joleen as we passed through the Chicago area. After three days in the car and two night of camping we finally arrived at Brasstown Bald, the place I am living and working at for the summer. I live and work at the top of a mountain....SO COOL!!!

In short, I work at the visitor center, manning the information desk answering questions about the area, local attractions, etc. As an intern, I am working on a few special projects for Brasstown Bald. These include increasing Brasstown Bald's presence on social media, creating a junior ranger program for Brasstown Bald, and putting together a few guided nature walks (programs). As an intern I also help out with special events. We haven't had any yet, but things such as Smokey the Bear's 70th birthday party event and having local experts (botantist, geologist, etc.) come and visit are also part of my job. As an intern I am also given the opportunity an exposure to how management of a national forest is conducted through shadowing various people. None of these days have occurred yet, but many are scheduled. I'm looking forward to meeting some people and understanding a bit more about what they do for a living.

So that's what I do. I work Wednesday through Sunday, with Monday and Tuesday as my "weekend" and days off. Work is from 9:30am to 5pm, so the schedule is pretty nice. No 6:30am mornings like the Boy Scout camp :) Also unlike camp, here I have an apartment that I share with the other intern, Claire. We live in the basement of an old fire tower, which sits at the top of the mountain. It is pretty cool! I have a bedroom an bathroom to myself and then we share a living room, dining room and kitchen. Check out the photos!!

The view from up here is great and I have done lots of exploring. I have hiked a few of the trails in the area and have been acquainting myself with local attractions (restaurants, lookout points, waterfalls, etc.) so I can give more personable information to visitors that ask. This is how I have spent my days off. A few of my favorites include going to Jim's Smokin' Que, the best BBQ place around, hiking the Jack's Knob Trail and seeing Pink Lady Slippers, hiking the Arkaquah Trail and seeing a Timber Rattler Snake, and going to many, many waterfalls! Claire and I also got the opportunity to go to Brevard, North Carolina to our company's main office. We met lots of people and also got to see a few other sites that our organization, the Cradle of Forestry in America Interpretive Association, manages. On our mini one day trip to Brevard we also stopped at Looking Glass waterfall and a few other scenic lookouts.

Phew! Ok, well, that is the EXTREMELY condensed version of my life over the past six months. I have posted LOTS of photos so please be sure to look at those. A picture is worth a thousand words :)

A few other things to mention....
 - Congratulations to my younger sister Rachel for graduating from high school at Hill-Murray this past Friday! Rachel graduated as one of the top ten academic achievers in her class and I couldn't be more proud!
 - In mid-June I will be attending the Forest Guild National Conference in Burlington, Vermont along with a few other students from Michigan Tech. This year's conference is mostly focused on carbon sequestration and carbon offsets...should be fun!
 - The internship here in Georgia last until the first week in August. I will then be home for a brief time and then off to school again to start my RA training and my last year of college...yikes!

I hope all is well in your world! I wish I could see you all more often :( I think of you all often. Wishing you a wonderful summer, from atop the highest mountain in the state of Georgia.

Love always, Kyle